Saturday, November 16, 2013

Sat Nov 16th Todays News

Everybody makes mistakes, but in entertaining the fallacy endorsing genocide of the Armenians by Turkey, Bolt makes a big one. Bolt is correct that there should be debate, but he is wrong to excuse. There are excuses that Turkey might give for the atrocity. Hitler gave excuses too. For one thing, Hitler pointed out nobody seemed to care about Turkey's actions. Meanwhile, in another abuse of justice, Syrians have killed the wrong person. Climate change hysterics killed the wrong clam. Julia Baird is being harassed by Jellyfish for AGW hysteria promotion. Whatever floats your boat, Julia.
In assessing degrees of wrongness, it is hard to position accurately Rudd, Gillard or Whitlam as the worst Australian PM ever. They all shared talentless front and back benches. They all had corrupt colleagues they were compromised defending. They all killed Australians going about their normal lives. They all left a ballooning debt. They all hurt industry. They all have stand out achievements of ineptitude. They also retained fanatical supporters in the press. The only thing certain is that Malcolm Fraser thought they had admirable qualities and policies. 
Speaking of corruption, there is that investigation into Craig Thomson. Time for a paper to act its' age?
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Hatches
Happy birthday and many happy returns David Hoang, Anya Guan and Daniel Nguyen. Born on the same day, across the years, along with
Matches
Despatches
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OOPSY DOOPSY

Tim Blair – Saturday, November 16, 2013 (5:58pm)

Everybody makes mistakes: 
Militant Islamist rebels in Syria linked to al-Qaeda have asked for “understanding and forgiveness” for cutting off and putting on display the wrong man’s head. 
The “incident” is being “investigated by the appropriate judicial authorities”, which is nice. In other oopsy doopsydevelopments: 
In 2006, climate change experts from Bangor University in north Wales found a very special clam while dredging the seabeds of Iceland. At that time scientists counted the rings on the inside shell to determine that the clam was the ripe old age of 405. Unfortunately, by opening the clam which scientists refer to as “Ming,” they killed it instantly.
Cut to 2013, researchers have determined that the original calculations of Ming’s age were wrong, and that the now deceased clam was actually 102 years older than originally thought. 
(Via Simple Simon)
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I, FOR ONE, WELCOME OUR NEW MARINE OVERLORDS

Tim Blair – Saturday, November 16, 2013 (5:49pm)

Jellyfish are attacking Julia Baird, and you’ll never guess why: 
Huge clumps of strange, pink-stringed jellyfish drifted into the protected bay near my home in Sydney last year. Thousands swarmed under the surface, stinging indiscriminately. I swam through them in a full-body wet suit for several long months with my swimming group, wondering if warmer currents had changed the habitat patterns.
Scientists are now talking about a peculiar “jellification” of the sea, prompted by climate change. 
This is the best evidence of catastrophic climate change since a poley bear tried to eat Tara Brown back in 2007. As for the jellyfish, they might be slimy and have no brains, but they still seem more intelligent than the people who swim with them. Hey, Julia: when life hands you jellyfish, make jellyfish ice cream.
(Via Handjive)
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THE BITCH AND THE ‘BERG

Tim Blair – Saturday, November 16, 2013 (5:14pm)

If Julia Gillard remained as Labor’s leader, her party wanted her removed from campaign ads: 
Head office … planned a TV ad campaign that, remarkably, would likely include no images of the prime minister …
If it had come to fruition, it would be the first time in the history of Labor TV campaigning that the leader had been censored out of the picture. 
I blame sexism. Speaking of which: 
Rudd and Gillard were each angry and bitter at the other. After she tore him down, Rudd had trouble even speaking her name. His standard epithet for Gillard in private was “the bitch”.

image

For her part, Gillard was dismissive of the achievements of Rudd’s prime ministership and privately spoke of “Rudd’s shit iceberg,” the burden of policy and political problems that he had left behind, only partly visible to the public. 
And then there’s Wayne Swan’s view, as allegedly expressed to Sam Dastyari: 
“You don’t know Kevin – he’s a treacherous, evil c---. He wants to destroy me, he wants to destroy us, he hates our party, he hates our movement, and you are there supporting this guy.” 
Swan happened to be at a wedding at the time, which adds a poignant touch.
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PERPETUAL MOOCHING

Tim Blair – Saturday, November 16, 2013 (5:01pm)

The true purpose of arts grants is for one set of arts bureaucrats to provide funding to create a new generation of arts bureaucrats. 
Quite so.
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SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE

Tim Blair – Saturday, November 16, 2013 (4:58pm)

A gentle tour around the Isle of Man, back in 1988:



(Via Jalopnik) 
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SAYONARA CARBONISTAS

Tim Blair – Saturday, November 16, 2013 (4:47pm)

Environmentalists were pleased by Japan’s post-Fukushima closure of all nuclear plants. But they’re not happy aboutthis: 
Nuclear accounted for 26 percent of Japan’s electricity generation and its loss has forced the country to import natural gas and coal, causing its greenhouse gas emissions to skyrocket. 
The Japanese have now revised their carbon reduction target, down from 25 per cent to just 3.8 per cent, causing sadness among UN climate idiots: 
Japan’s decision added to gloom at the Warsaw talks, where no major countries have announced more ambitious goals to cut emissions, despite warnings from scientists about the risks of more heatwaves, droughts, floods and rising sea levels. 
See you in climate court, denirus.
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WE’RE ALL GOING TO CLIMATE COURT

Tim Blair – Friday, November 15, 2013 (6:09pm)

In the Philippines, Climate Reality Project manager Rodne Galicha calls for a legal weather remedy: 
Typhoon Haiyan speaks to us of climate inaction, injustice, apathy and irresponsibility …
For us this a crime - a climate crime - and we will be seeking climate justice. 
Looks like we’ll end up in climate jail. Or maybe we’ll just be climate executed.
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The slow, very slow investigation of Craig Thomson

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (5:40pm)


Michael Smith details a very, very slow investigation that raises troubling questions:

FOR a few months in 2009 it looked like Australia’s industrial registrar Doug Williams might succeed in establishing an investigation into the Thomson allegations. July 1, 2009, was the deadline.
Previously confidential documents released under Freedom of Information this year and Williams’s extensive on-the-record interview with me have filled in many blanks. What emerges is Fair Work Australia’s seemingly conscious encouragement of delays and frustrations to the investigation of a relatively straightforward alleged swindle…
Now retired, Williams says had his investigation plan been followed, the matter would have been “done and dusted, it would have been wrapped up during the passage of the following year (2010)”. That Thomson seems to have been shielded from inquiry should disturb us all. Discovery of how that happened must be a priority for the government.
FWA’s “summary of events” for the HSU investigation records this for April 8, 2009: “Industrial registrar advised deputy prime minister’s chief of staff Ben Hubbard inquiries were under way into HSU and formal coercive investigation may ensue.”
This week Williams told me Hubbard’s call was “unusual” and memorable, coming in the dark of night on the rarely used Williams landline. Williams told me Hubbard had only one short, sharp question. “He asked had the name Thomson come up in my inquiry.”
Read it all.
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.) 
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Who was the worst PM of all - Rudd or Gillard?

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (1:43pm)


Terry McCrann can’t split them:

… perhaps the contest is best described as a tie.
Indeed, they really did share the two signature policies that defined why their governments were worse even than Whitlam’s.
The sheer fiscal irresponsibility of the $40 billion, going on $60bn and ending up who knows where, if they and it had been allowed to continue. National Broadband Network. Detailed in all due care, on the back of a drinks coaster.
And the carbon tax: a major and direct assault on both the national interest, and every single Australian ... to sell out Australia’s absolutely core national interest in the pursuit of a personal global garland…
Last year, total global CO2 emissions were up around 4000 million tonnes on the level that prevailed when Rudd went to Copenhagen.
That increase alone is equal to about eight times our total emissions, rendering beyond complete irrelevance even the 15 per cent cut in our emissions, proposed by the discredited and hopefully soon disbanded Climate Authority, let alone the 5 per cent currently mandated figure.
A third person should be introduced—Wayne Swan, who as treasurer provided a seemingly seamless link between the awfulnesses of Rudd and Gillard and has to be given ownership of the third great legacy disaster, the budget deficit… We now have a net debt of $200bn and rising and precious little to show for it… We have also committed to spend perhaps $60bn on a second-order low-return NBN. 
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Bolt Report tomorrow

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (11:59am)


On The Bolt Report tomorrow - Channel 10 at 10am and 4pm.

Great science writer Matt Ridley on the benefits of global warming. Plus Michael Kroger and Michael Costa. 
The twitter feed.
The place the videos appear.
UPDATE
On whose side are the media, Labor and the Greens? On the side of the people smugglers or those trying to stop them? My 2GB editorial last night here.
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From the Age, which raged against News Corp “bias”. UPDATE: Age attacks Minister for telling truth

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (11:18am)


The Age’s festival of Leftist hate continues. Gerard Henderson on yesterday’s paper:

Page 2 carries an article by Barney Zwartz along with a Tanberg cartoon. Both unfairly bag such traditional Age targets as Cardinal George Pell and Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Pages 4 and 5 run unrelenting criticism of the Coalition’s Immigration Minister Scott Morrison. There is more of the same in Julie Anne-Davies’ article on pages 16 and 17 titled “Abbott’s New World Order”.
Turn to the Letters Page. Under a photo of Cardinal Pell, four out of four letters bag the Catholic Church. Turn to the Comment Page. It’s a Conservative-Free-Zone with an article by former Labor MP Barry Jones and another by current Labor MP Anthony Albanese and another on the cricket. Get the picture?
Today’s Age diet of stories negative to the Government, helpful to Labor:

image
The Age promise checker insists we live under an authoritarian and probably unelected regime:

image
Did The Age refer to the “Gillard regime”? Did it keep a daily account of the promises kept by the most promise-breaking Government we’ve ever had?
UPDATE
The Age is furious:

It was October 18, the fifth of the Immigration Minister’s weekly media briefings on the government’s military-led campaign to stop the boats.
Immigration minister Scott Morrison.
Morrison appeared to be taking pleasure in swatting aside questions like blowflies in Bourke.

“It’s actually not true,” he said in response to a question about a pregnant asylum seeker on Nauru who, multiple reports from the island had suggested, was nearly due to give birth to twins and may become the first woman in detention to deliver on the island since the Howard era.
The Age attacks Morrison for using a “subtle change in fact” to deny the claim.
The change? The woman was pregnant with one child, not two. She wasn’t about to give birth on the island, but in Australia, where she had been flown a week earlier.
The Age is insane. Now it attacks Morrison for not admitting to what plainly was false:

This hairsplitting approach to the facts - and taking the opportunity to hide behind them wherever possible…

Hiding behind facts. That’s not something you could ever accuse The Age of doing. 
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How Gillard nearly killed a story - and the media’s freedom

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (10:35am)


Hedley Thomas on the most dangerous attempt I’ve yet seen by an Australian Government to muzzle the media - an attempt that was cheered by many ABC and Fairfax journalists and nearly succeeded:

JULIA Gillard began to squeeze the trigger of a powerful weapon aimed directly at the media on August 29, 2011. The story she wanted dead and buried ...  revolved around a secret union fund she had quietly, without even the knowledge of her law firm partners, given advice about setting up for her former client and boyfriend, the allegedly corrupt Australian Workers Union boss Bruce Wilson, who would allegedly use what was later described as a “slush fund” in a serious fraud.
This little-known scandal had been largely concealed since Gillard left her job as a salaried partner at Slater & Gordon lawyers in Melbourne in late 1995…
How Gillard responded on that Monday morning, August 29, 2011, and subsequently, should be a salutary lesson about the lengths that powerful political figures will go to crush a damaging story, neutralise journalists, intimidate media outlets and even attempt to permanently alter the freedom of the media.
My then colleague at The Australian, Glenn Milne, had published in his column that morning a mere handful of paragraphs about his previous attempts to investigate the slush fund. Milne was essentially flagging a deeper story that was being prepared for imminent airing by a 2UE radio host, Michael Smith, a former police officer…
Gillard already knew that Andrew Bolt, the conservative and widely read commentator for the Herald Sun (sister paper to The Australian), had flagged the revisiting of the slush fund scandal - he had written of a “tip on something that may force Gillard to resign”....
On the Monday morning, early, a furious Gillard called John Hartigan, the then head of News Limited in Australia… Gillard demanded a public apology, the immediate expunging from the website of Milne’s column, and undertakings that the allegations never be repeated again in The Australian. Leaving nothing to chance, the PM extended this demand to cover all News Limited newspapers and their websites…
Almost all of Gillard’s demands were met. Seeing what was happening over at News Limited, Smith’s bosses at the Fairfax-owned 2UE then lost their nerve and pulled his carefully researched story, too. Smith protested but lost his job over it. Bolt, appalled at the censorship and the cave-in, considered resigning. Milne lost his column and his place at The Australian…
The Gillard government’s announcement of a public media inquiry just a couple of weeks later, in September 2011, was the next blunt instrument to ensure we were more poodle than watchdog… The media inquiry, headed by former Federal Court judge Ray Finkelstein QC, was a precursor to the government’s threats of unprecedented media regulation…
As a government strategy, the crackdown in 2011 was ruthlessly effective.
My colleagues were intimidated… The media steered a wide berth around the ruins of the slush fund story - except to mock Milne and Smith for being foolish enough to think it ever was a story worth pursuing…
And in the dying days of Gillard’s government, earlier this year, draconian proposals for media regulation were warmed up again. Would this incredible attempted stifling, aimed squarely at News, have even been put back on the agenda if The Australian had not published revelations in leaked, and extremely damaging, slush fund-related documents in 2012? ...
Now, in the new light of hard, documentary evidence from exhaustive investigations during the past 11 months by Victoria Police fraud squad detectives, who will be back in court early next month, it is difficult to avoid one disturbing conclusion.
It is that Milne, Smith and their employers were subjected to a shameless, unprecedented, unfair and disproportionate counterattack by Gillard, who wanted their attempted reporting about her role in setting up the slush fund killed off for all time. A conga line of media critics (for whom party-political preference and ideology appeared to trump the principles of a free press) joined in to make sure the credibility of the two was shredded....
For those unsure of where things are at, the police interest remains high. The police are due to go back to court in a couple of weeks… Earlier this year, police seized hundreds of documents under the warrant, which specifically sought files held by Slater & Gordon relating to Wilson and Gillard, including her personnel files, invoices, travel records and documents from the firm’s partner meetings relating to Gillard and the AWU.
Julia Gillard, of course, maintains she did nothing wrong and did not know of her then boyfriend’s frauds. But I am certain she did do at least one thing profoundly wrong: she tried to censor or cow the media for political advantage. Shame, shame on the journalists and academics who cheered her in that mischief.

Read Hedley’s full story.
(Thanks to readers Correllio and Peter of Bellevue Hill.) 
As with my story. - ed
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Left-wing media is no super investment

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (10:27am)


Member Judith Sloan writes to Heather Ridout, chairwoman of AustralianSuper, about her fund’s “investment” in a Leftist on-line media site:


Dear Heather,
I am writing in relation to AustralianSuper’s investment in The New Daily website, information which has become publicly available only this week. I am very concerned about the wisdom of this investment, particularly in view of comments made by Bruce Guthrie, the newly appointed editorial director of the website.
According to him, the venture will lose money for the next three to five years but may make a modest profit after that. He has also declared that the superannuation funds that have invested in this new venture “have made it clear they will never charge for journalism”.
There are several questions that need to be satisfactorily answered lest I withdraw my funds from AustralianSuper, namely:
Do the trustees consider they are meeting the sole-purpose test by investing in such a marginal investment in an industry that is generating such poor returns?
Were there more attractive investments that were discarded to invest members’ funds in this risky venture?
Do the trustees consider it appropriate to foist promotional material on members (via their email accounts) for this venture without the express consent of the members?
Why are the other companies in which AustralianSuper is invested not given the same opportunity to promote their products and services in the same way or directed not to charge for their products or services, for that matter?..
I will wait for your reply before shifting my funds.
Yours sincerely,
Judith Sloan
Member, AustralianSuper.
Some questions also need to be asked of the ABC for providing this commercial operation with ABC content. 
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Shame on the ABC for screaming “genocide denier”. Let there be a debate

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (9:12am)


It is shameful of the ABC to so smear and demonise an academic without addressing the facts he’s trying to bring to an important - if highly emotional - debate:
One of the world’s most vocal Armenian genocide deniers will make an address at Parliament House in Canberra next week.
The ABC has learnt that a committee room in Parliament House has been booked by Labor backbencher Laurie Ferguson for a special invitation-only address titled “What happened during 1915–1923?”
The address will be given by Professor Justin McCarthy, an American history professor who many Armenians view with the same disdain as Jews view Holocaust denier David Irving.
The analogy with Irving is inaccurate and disgraceful. McCarthy does not for a second dispute that extent of suffering or the numbers of the Armenian dead. What he disputes is that Turkish authorities at the time deliberately planned the killings, and simply to wipe out the Armenian population. He argues that the Armenian catastrophe was the result of a civil war, with outside interference, producing atrocities and colossal losses on both sides. McCarthy argues Turks acted more from fear than genocidal intent, with the brutality often not directed by any central authority, and the suffering made worse by poverty and lack of food. He accepts the central government did try to deport Armenians from war zones, but argues it tried to prevent massacres, many of which were actually perpetrated by irregulars and locals. In no way is there an analogy between Nazis systematically murdering millions of Jewish civilians simply for being Jews.
It should be possible to debate this without the ABC screaming “genocide denier!” We should actually praise Ferguson for wanting a proper debate from both sides before reaching a conclusion. Or must all such issues be decided by fashion, not reason? Abuse, not argument? And beware the kind of participant who argues for recognition of one genocide to defend the memory of another. Beware, also, those who try to fit this narrative into simply another Muslim vs Christian narrative, with Muslims cast as the villians.
Yes, the atrocities suffered by Armenians were truly horrific, absolutely evil. (Caution: don’t click the link if you can’t take images of suffering.) No argument about how or why should be allowed to mask that horror. But neither should that horror be allowed to prevent that argument.
In the end, I don’t know enough to declare McCarthy wrong or right, although I’ve heard him speak and find his evidence makes a good case.
Daniel Pipes:
McCarthy has unearthed a horrifying and extremely important fact: that in the course of the century between the Greek war of independence and World War I, the Ottoman Empire suffered five and a half million dead and five million refugees. He deems this Europe’s largest lost of life and emigration since the Thirty Years’ War. Christian suffering in this time and place is well-known; McCarthy shows the other side, that “Muslim communities in an area as large as all of western Europe had been diminished or destroyed.” His study minutely reviews the regions and wars, pulling information from foreign and Ottoman sources to produce a compelling account.
Beyond the tragedy involved, this pattern of death and exile has a profound historical importance. To take just three matters that the author raises: It puts into perspective the deportation of Armenians in 1915 and turns this from an act of hatred into one motivated by fear (had the Armenians, with Russian support, rebelled, Ottoman Muslims could have expected to be slaughtered)...
The great Professor Bernard Lewis explains why he can accept there was tremendous suffering, but no genocide - if by genocide we mean the planned extermination of a people:

As I say, I do not know who is right. But I do know who is wrong: those who try to shut down debates with the most vile abuse.
UPDATE
I am not surprised the Turks are upset. For them this is not just a case of Australian politicians, most of whom are desperately ignorant of the facts, formally smearing Turkey. It also represents a threat to Turkey’s security - a meddling in the explosive politics of ethnic and religious division:
BARRY O’Farrell is embroiled in a diplomatic row with Turkey that could potentially impact 2015’s Anzac centenary commemorations following calls by the speaker of the Turkish government for the NSW Premier to renounce a motion condemning Turkey for the genocide of Armenians…
Grand National Assembly Speaker Cemil Cicek, who holds the country’s second highest office, said parliamentarians should confine themselves to issues involving their own communities.

In May this year, Premier O’Farrell moved a motion in state parliament reaffirming a 1997 motion that “recognised and condemned the genocide of the Armenians by the then-Ottoman government between 1915 and 1922”, and designated 24 April of every year thereafter as a day of remembrance of the 1.5 million Armenians who fell victim to “the first genocide of the twentieth century”.
He did so after lobbying from Christian Democrat MP Fred Nile, whose vote is crucial to the government in the upper house and who moved a similar motion in the upper house after meeting with Armenian ­leaders.
Mr O’Farrell’s closest confidant in cabinet, Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian, is of Armenian heritage, as is the federal Treasurer, Joe Hockey.
O’Farrell’s motion was simply stupid. There is no call on the NSW Parliament to resolve historical debates with a vote; no advantage to NSW to declare positions on Armenian history; no honor in pandering to religious and ethnic groups seeking advantage in arguments over historical grievances involving events a century ago in another land.
(Thanks to reader Johnny Turk.)
Zaya Toma
The following is my comment on Andrew Bolts article. Most of the time I am in fierce agreement with you, but on this occasion I'm afraid your objection to the ABC has delivered you on the immoral path to defending the attempt to exterminate a nation. Quite interestingly, your title suggests that you don’t necessarily have a position, you just want a “debate” and there’s nothing wrong with that. But for those interested enough to read through your article, the slant is definitely against the idea that genocide occurred. For example you say “I am not surprised the Turks are upset. For them this is not just a case of Australian politicians, most of whom are desperately ignorant of the facts, formally smearing Turkey. It also represents a threat to Turkey’s security - a meddling in the explosive politics of ethnic and religious division” – To say that by recognising the Genocide the NSW Parliament has smeared Turkey then you are implying that the Genocide did not occur. I also find it interesting that you say “In no way is there an analogy between Nazis systematically murdering millions of Jewish civilians simply for being Jews” considering that Hitler himself said Who, after all, speaks to-day of the annihilation of the Armenians? I’m also supried by your other comments “Beware, also, those who try to fit this narrative into simply another Muslim vs Christian narrative, with Muslims cast as the villains.” Considering what you stated on 2GB in relation to not being surprised about the identity of those behind the violent gun crime spree in Western Sydney. Bravo, you are able to make the argument suit your position. I welcome the debate, I have just one question – If the genocide did not occur why was Sir Stanley George Savige, a young Australian captain awarded a DSO for his actions at the time, selected to be part of an elite force in charge of re-supplying the Assyrians who had run out of ammunition, required to put his forces between a column of 90,000 refugees and Turkish forces. Why did Charles Bean an official war correspondent for Australia use the words “protecting the defenseless throng from the enemy thirsting like wolves?” 
I just added that - Also, how would you explain the dramatic difference in the population of Christian minorities in Turkey between 1914 and 1927? For example Armenian population in Turkey at 1914 was 1,200,000 in 1927 it fell to just 77,000. The Greek population in 1914 was 1,500,000 but fell to just 110,000 in 1927. In the same period of decline in Christian population, the Muslim population grew from 12.9million in 1914 to 13.2 million in 1927. Sources: From 1914 to 1965, Ottoman and Turkish censuses and statistical abstracts; from 1990 to 2005.http://www.imi.ox.ac.uk/.... I put it to you that the Ottomans were much more successful in their program of Genocide, than Hitler could ever have hoped to be. I also ask you to heed the advice of George Santayana who said "Those Who Do Not Learn History Are Doomed To Repeat It."
Bolt is wrong to despise the debate. Mr O'Farrell was correct to put out the motion. It is reasonable to debate it. It is wrong to kill or jail those who raise the issue, as Turkey has done too. Abysmal language used in defence of the indefensible. That Turkey committed genocide through depraved indifference mixed with active persecution .. and fear from being condemned for it by the world. - ed===

No comment

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (9:04am)


image
Really?
A SELF-styled sheikh who sent offensive letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers has faced court in connection to the murder of a woman.
Man Haron Monis, 49, fronted Burwood Local Court charged with being an accessory before and after the fact to the murder of a woman allegedly stabbed and set alight in a western Sydney stairwell earlier this year.
Mr Monis, also known as Sheikh Haron, was arrested along with a woman who earlier today was charged with murder.
(Reader Jono.) 
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Heads they lose

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (8:44am)


The Left mocked Tony Abbott when he said the conflict in Syria was between bad guys and bad guys. From the side that Barack Obama was going to help with a strike against the Assad regime:
Radical anti-government fighters in Syria mistakenly beheaded a wounded fellow rebel soldier after assuming he was a supporter of President Bashar al-Assad, according to an online statement from the radical fighters’ group.
A separate online video showed a gruesome display of radical fighters holding what appeared to be the victim’s head.
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The Hunger Years of an ABC socialist

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (8:41am)


From a particularly rich Media Watch Dog this week, a touching account of the working class roots of the ABC’s Kerry O’Brien:
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UPDATE
Reader Alan of Sydney:

Myer were not in NSW until about 20 years ago.Farmers would have been the account O’Brien heard his father complain about, not Myer.
In fact, Farmers became Grace Bros before being taken over by Myer and the rebranding was completed in the mid 90’s. As an aside, Paul Keating worked in the tie department at Farmers as a callow youth in the early 1960’s.
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Obama’s lie kills not just him but Big Government

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (8:22am)


Barack Obama lied about Obamacare and now even the media - well, perhaps not the excuse-making New York Times - and Bill Clinton are going for his throat.

CBS News’ Major Garrett wasted no time Thursday hammering President Barack Obama during a press conference over his failed “you can keep it” health insurance promise.
“You said while the law was being debated, ‘If you like your plan, you can keep it.’ You said after the law was signed, ‘If you like your plan, you can keep it,’” Garrett said. “Americans believed that when you said that over and over.”
“Do you not believe the American people deserve a deeper, transparent accountability from you as to why you said that over and over when your own statistics published in the federal register alerted your policy staff, I presume you, the fact that millions of Americans would in fact probably fall into the very gap you’re trying to administratively fix now?” he asked.
Obama answered: “There is no doubt that the way I put that forward unequivocally ended up not being accurate. It was not because of my intention not to deliver on that commitment and that promise.”
But Garrett pushed the president to more fully explain his now-infamous insurance promise.
“Did you decide, sir, that the simple declaration was something the American people could handle?” he asked. That “the nuance you gave now was something (they) couldn’t handle and (you) didn’t trust the American people with the fuller truth?”
“No,” the president said.
Bill Clinton campaigned for Obama, Now he tells him to keep his promise on Obamacare - a promise that was actually a lie:
Obama needs to deliver on his promise that the new law would not force Americans to change their insurance plans, Clinton said.
“They were the ones who heard the promise, if you like what you’ve got you can keep it,” he said, referring to people who are now receiving cancellation letters from insurers. “I personally believe, even if it takes a change in the law, the president should honor the commitment the federal government made to these people and let them keep what they got.”
Charles Krauthammer says Obama has wrecked not just his own credibility but that of the Left’s Big Government plans:

By Thursday, President Obama had been forced into a rear-guard holding action, asking insurers to grant a one-year extension of current plans.
The damage to the Obama presidency, however, is already done. His approval rating has fallen to 39?percent, his lowest ever. And, for the first time, a majority considers him untrustworthy. That bond is not easily repaired.
At stake, however, is more than the fate of one presidency.... At stake is the new, more ambitious, social-democratic brand of American liberalism introduced by Obama, of which Obamacare is both symbol and concrete embodiment… Its unraveling would catastrophically undermine [the Democrats’] underlying ideology of ever-expansive central government providing cradle-to-grave care for an ever-grateful citizenry…
It begins with the bungled rollout. If Washington can’t even do the Web site — the literal portal to this brave new world — how does it propose to regulate the vast ecosystem of American medicine?
Beyond the competence issue is the arrogance. Five million freely chosen, freely purchased, freely renewed health-care plans are summarily canceled. Why? Because they don’t meet some arbitrary standard set by the experts in Washington.
For all his news conference gyrations about not deliberately deceiving people with his “if you like it” promise, the law Obama so triumphantly gave us allows you to keep your plan only if he likes it. This is life imitating comedy — that old line about a liberal being someone who doesn’t care what you do as long as it’s mandatory.
Lastly, deception. The essence of the entitlement state is government giving away free stuff. Hence Obamacare would provide insurance for 30 million uninsured, while giving everybody tons of free medical services — without adding “one dime to our deficits,” promised Obama.
This being inherently impossible, there had to be a catch. Now we know it: hidden subsidies.  
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Labor was warned NBN to leave us $31 billion worse off

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (8:12am)


What a scandalous waste. What scandalous secrecy. What scandalous bungling:

A SECRET review of the NBN prepared for the Gillard government almost three years ago estimated it would leave taxpayers up to $31 billion worse off and warned of major risks in the plan, many of which were later realised.
The Weekend Australian has learned that the review by investment bank Lazard found the project would confront construction problems leading to cost increases for the building phase.
It also found that the project - once touted by the former Labor government as ideal for “mum and dad investors” - was so risky that no private investors would stump up the capital.
Even a complete techno know-nothing like me could see this gigantic government project was supplying exactly not what many of us actually wanted:
Lazard is understood to have warned about the competitive threat posed by wireless internet, which could limit take-up - a major driver of revenue needed to repay the government’s equity contribution to the huge project. It pointed to anecdotal evidence that 20 per cent of premises could ultimately be wireless-only.
In doing so, it echoed Labor’s corporate advisers, Greenhill Calliburn, which warned in 2011 that some consumers “may be willing to sacrifice higher-speed transmissions for the convenience of mobile platforms”.
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This oppressive law is not what made Dreyfus’s grandparents safe

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (8:06am)


Professor Sinclair Davidson:
The anti-free speech lobby are out and about raising all sorts of red herrings. This particular red herring is not only annoying, it is offensive. 
Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said he had condemned Senator Brandis’ plans “from the moment he first opened his mouth”.
The laws were aimed at stopping “extreme cases of hate speech,” said Mr Dreyfus, whose great-grandparents died in the Holocaust and whose father and grandparents fled Nazi Germany for Australia.
When Dreyfus’ grandparents sought refuge in Australia there was no 18c, nor even an RDA. Yet Australia was good enough for them then.
UPDATE
Reader Malcilm:
He is also apparently unaware that the Weimar Republic also had these “hate speech” laws. Indeed, at one point Hitler was banned from speaking in Bavaria because of them. See here
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Bob Carr, whose will was as weak as his word

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (7:52am)


Why anyone would trust a word this dilettante says is beyond me. From an account of the fall of Julia Gillard:

Bob Carr, Gillard’s minister for Foreign Affairs, was the senior statesman of his faction, the NSW Right. He had repeatedly denounced the prime minister to his factional colleagues as a leader who had “lost the plot” and was leading the government to defeat.
He was counted as a firm vote for Rudd. The NSW Right faction had led Gillard’s original insurgency against Rudd in 2010 under the generalship of Mark Arbib. Now it was committed to reversing the transaction.
Of the faction’s 18 members, it counted a solid 12 for Rudd. The NSW general secretary, Sam Dastyari, was committed to the challenge. They looked to Carr…
When the Fairfax Nielsen poll on Monday, March 18, found Labor’s primary vote to be at 31 per cent, the ... news galvanised the challenge. The Rudd group had been cultivating a Gillard supporter and a key factional figure in the Left, Mark Butler, minister for mental health and ageing.
Rudd’s circle now wanted to announce the news that he’d suffered a crisis of confidence in Gillard. Butler agreed but was nervous. The NSW Right offered him some company. Bob Carr would also go public too.
The faction co-ordinated with Carr, now in Washington. Dastyari spoke to him from Sydney and the two men agreed on the words Carr would use. This newspaper reported on the Tuesday that the two were reconsidering their support for Gillard.
But when Carr received a call from the prime minister’s office, his will wilted. He appeared before the media to insist that he was “loyal to Julia Gillard”.
And then voted against her.
Couldn’t trust his word or his courage. 
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Judas attacks Judas

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (7:16am)


Mark Latham:
(RUDD) will be remembered for two scarifying acts of bastardry. The first was to sabotage Julia Gillard’s 2010 election campaign with leaks to Laurie Oakes and Peter Hartcher. It takes a special kind of spite for a sitting MP to deny his party an election victory, but this is Rudd’s legacy, inflicting a hung parliament on colleagues.
Gerard Henderson:
Hang on a minute. Mark Latham seems to have forgotten that he not only stalked Prime Minister Julia Gillard during the 2010 election campaign but also urged Australians to vote informal. It is all documented in your man Latham’s 60 Minutes special which aired on Channel 9 on 12 August 2010. Since any influence Mark Latham might have had on the 2010 campaign would have been on traditional Labor voters, it could be said that the Lair of Liverpool himself was at least partly responsible for denying Labor “an election victory”. After all, he attempted to unnerve Julia Gillard and he urged Australians not to vote for the Labor Party.
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Japan slashes global warming target

Andrew Bolt November 16 2013 (12:29am)


Greens must really make a choice of scares - the we’ll-all-fry warming scare or the we’ll-all-fry nuclear scare.  Meanwhile, Japan doesn’t just follow Tony Abbott’s lead but overtakes him:
Japan is to significantly slash its greenhouse gas reduction target in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
It will now aim to achieve a 2020 target of 3.8% below 2005 levels.
This replaces a previous commitment to reduce emissions by 25% from 1990 levels.
The moves come with all of Japan’s nuclear power plants currently offline - forcing the country to increase its burning of fossil fuels.
(Thanks to Rod.) 
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Why is the Herald exaggerating this typhoon?

Andrew Bolt November 15 2013 (7:38pm)


The Sydney Morning Herald disgracefully misleads its readers with this alarmist article by activist Rodne Galicha of the Climate Reality Project, overseen in the Philippines by the Australian Conservation Foundation:

Typhoon Haiyan speaks to us of climate inaction, injustice, apathy and irresponsibility… You see, for us this a crime - a climate crime - and we will be seeking climate justice.
With this catastrophic reality, human beings here in the Philippines have now become an endangered species.
SMH readers would not know from this article the facts that say it’s apocalyptic nonsense: that this typhoon was not the strongest or deadliest to hit the Philippines, and that typhoon numbers have actually not risen at all over many decades. Nor would they know that cyclones worldwide have not being stronger or more common, either, and the latest IPCC report says it has little confidence in claims humans have made cyclones worse.
Does the SMH believe that printing falsehoods is fine in a good cause? 
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Army says don’t tell people smugglers our secrets. Greens and Labor say we must

Andrew Bolt November 15 2013 (6:07pm)

Boat people policy

Three boats in one week is the most for many weeks now:

The federal government has finally confirmed that an asylum-seeker boat reached Darwin on Monday and was one of three to arrive in Australian waters in the past week…

The three boats carried a total of 163 passengers and eight crew.

The Greens – and Labor - are demanding the release of information that the head of Operation Sovereign Borders says will help people smugglers:

In an escalation of her attack on the Coalition for its “secret” military-led border protection regime, Greens immigration spokesman Sarah Hanson-Young put a motion to the Senate ordering the government to release any documents relating to the interception and turning back of asylum-seeker vessels.
The motion was backed by Labor, passing the Senate this morning 31 votes to 28.
General Angus Campbell tried today to explain at great lengths to the media that the information they demand just helps people smugglers:

General Campbell said he wouldn’t disclose anything which would give people smugglers an advantage or could be used by them to manipulate or confuse their potential customers.
“They use official announcements of vessel interceptions to persuade people that the way to Australian remains open. It does not,” he said.
General Campbell said information about arrivals led to release of final payments to the smugglers, but delays would complicate their operations in an increasingly tight market.
“We know that passengers have been told on occasion by people smugglers not to be concerned by the poor state of their vessel, by the inexperience of their crew by the lack of provisions on board because their voyage will be short and they will very quickly marry up with an Australian vessel,” he said.
“People smugglers are using these announcements to claim victory.”
So on whose side are the Greens, Labor and clamoring journalists? On the people smugglers’ or on those trying to stop them?
UPDATE
The former chief of the Australian Defence Force - a Labor favorite - backs the Government’s restrictions:

ABC 702 SYDNEY
FRIDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2013
ADAM SPENCER:
Excellent. Thank you very much. Can I ask you a question on a separate matter if that’s alright. You led the expert panel on asylum seekers and we’re now seeing an increasing role for the military and border protection. We’re also not getting a lot of information from the Government or the military about what’s being involved in Operation Sovereign Borders. Do you personally have an opinion on whether this level of secrecy is warranted?
ANGUS HOUSTON:
Well I think one of the problems that you face when you’re conducting an operation like this is the need to guard information and I guess the military way of doing things is to operate with a high degree of operational security, to keep the people smugglers on the back foot and I think that’s really why there’s a need for operational security and that’s why things are the way they are at the moment.
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My first news report in The Australian - 2,000 words on the network that kept Thomson in...
http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2013/11/my-article-in-todays-the-australian-2000-words-on-the-network-that-kept-craig-thomson-in-parliament-.html
A milestone for me and my family today. I've had my first news story published in a major daily - The Australian. I'm surprised at how moving it is to see this in the mainstream. May I thank The Australian's Editor in Chief Chris Mitchell and his team for taking...
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Rob Elliot, HSU National Secretary prior to Thomson. There was a written policy on credit card...
http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2013/11/rob-elliot-hsu-national-secretary-prior-to-thomson-there-was-a-written-policy-on-credit-card-use-fai.html
Rob Elliot was the HSU National Secretary prior to Craig Thomson. In this interview recorded 30 minutes ago he tells me: Every HSU employee issued with a credit card signed acknowledging receipt of a copy of the policy A signed copy was filed in each employee's personnel record the credit...
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Aprille Love
My perfect saturdday night date with @samsam__xx #roomservice #pizza #dessert#cremebrulee #cheesecake #despicableme2
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Hillbilly 33 with some points for the revisionistas - Michael Smith News
http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2013/11/hillbilly-33-with-some-points-for-the-revisionistas.html
I DID NOTHING WRONG! As a solicitor and salaried partner of Slater & Gordon, Julia Eileen Gillard was subject to the rules, regulations and obligations of: (a) the Solicitor’s Oath/Affirmation required to gain her registration: (b) the Legal Profession Partnership Act 1958:under which her Practising...
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Tony Abbott
Official Photograph CHOGM 2013
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When Ruby Bridges walked into school, 500 students walked out
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/television/when-ruby-bridges-walked-into-school-500-students-walked-out/story-e6frfmyi-1226761638591
HER hair neatly tied back and her white socks folded over above clean black shoes, Ruby Bridges looked anything but a revolutionary. But that's exactly what she became.
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Aprille Love
Saw my girl @samsam__xx come in for a 24hour stopover bearing gifts #bikini #h&m #sephora#internationallove
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How nostalgic - I know the feeling under a previous administration.>

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/from_the_pages_of_the_age_which_raged_against_news_corp_bias/
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Andy Trieu
The future is bright..... #lets #ride #lol
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'Tiger Mums' give kids three hours a week more attention than Aussie mums, study finds
http://mobile.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/tiger-mums-give-kids-three-hours-a-week-more-attention-than-aussie-mums-study-finds/story-fnet085v-1226761320799
DOTING migrant "Tiger Mums'' spend more time cuddling their kids - and not just coaching them - a world-first study shows.
.. the secret to academic success and emotional balance? - ed
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All-New Monday: The family of "Survivor: China" winner Todd Herzog says he’s an alcoholic, and they fear he could die at any moment. Todd, clearly intoxicated, faces Dr. Phil. 

Watch a preview: http://bit.ly/SurvivorWinner
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Make a Wish: Crime-fighting Bat Kid captures San Francisco’s hearts [photos] ==> http://twitchy.com/2013/11/15/make-a-wish-crime-fighting-bat-kid-captures-san-franciscos-hearts-photos/
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Dean Hamstead'
Protesting phoetal personhood aka denying rights to unborn children through dehumanization. Disgusting and barbaric.
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If we classify unwanted pregnancies as child refugees escaping from persecution - the greens will be in a pickle.
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8 days until the 50th Anniversary... #SaveTheDay

If you haven't seen the brand new mini-episode 'The Night of the Doctor', watch it here!http://bbc.in/TheNightoftheDoctorMiniEp
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PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
THIS is the feathers in your jacket & pillows!

To produce down bedding, feathers are ripped out of LIVE BIRDS by the fistful, often causing BLOODY WOUNDS. They sometimes DIE of trauma.

SHARE & urge Caesars Casino to DROP DOWN:http://peta.vg/1cum 
this doesn't happen .. in Africa, there is a tribe of pigmie cowherds who cut flesh from live cattle to eat .. that is a sustainable practice which doesn't sound good either .. ed
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Japan slashes climate reduction goal
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24952155
Japan is to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas reduction target in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, an official announces.

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MacJams.com - Song: sharon's stretchy skin. by woofer3
http://www.macjams.com/song/78107
written and recorded - october 2013 [02-02] It was inspired by the x factor.
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Ancient Mars was once covered in water -- and MAVEN will find out where it went
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/11/14/ancient-mars-was-once-covered-in-water-and-maven-will-find-out-where-it-went/?intcmp=features
Billions of years ago when the Red Planet was young, it likely had a thick atmosphere that was warm enough to support oceans of liquid water.
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The bacon obsession: 18 reasons we drool over this wonder food
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/the-bacon-obsession-18-reasons-we-drool-over-this-wonder-food/story-fneuz8wn-1226761087778
WE DON'T need to tell you about the amazing properties of the pork belly delight, but a bit of bacon porn on your Friday afternoon can't hurt. Can it?
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" A SUGGESTION FOR SOLVING THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEE PROBLEM

Saudi Arabia is trying to repatriate millions of illegal aliens who are culturally incompatible with Saudi religious and cultural standards (language, etc). This is leaving a serious labor problem in the Kingdom - including a lack of skilled labor.

So, move all Palestinians in Camps, in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and the West Bank, toSaudi Arabia -- housing is already there, jobs are waiting.

Let Muslim Palestinians settle in a Muslim state, the home of many of their ancestors, by the way, where work, good incomes, good living standards are waiting. " - Roger Froikin.

Comment :

" Good idea.

It lends credibility to the expression " killing two birds with one stone "

The Pals love killing and the Saudis like stoning.

A marriage made in Muslim heaven.

I wish the happy couple every success. " - Daniel Katz.
===

===
Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
BE A SOUL WINNER,WORK FOR GOD.
PRAY ALONG.
Dear Father,I thank You for making me an effective soul winner,building lives with Your word into a magnificent temple,where your glory,majesty and honour can be displayed for the world to see. Thank You for doing a work in me, even when I don’t see it. Thank You for the brand new thing You have for me,in Jesus Name,Amen.
=
Father God,I thank You for Your faithfulness in my life. Thank You for Your promise to bless and multiply me. Direct my steps, keep me close to You as I increase in You in Jesus’ name. Amen.
=
God Will Multiply You.
The Scripture says,“And I will make My covenant between Me and you and will multiply you exceedingly.”(Genesis 17:2)

God is in the multiplication business. It doesn’t matter what your need is today, God wants to increase you.One time in the Old Testament, God simply multiplied the sound of four men’s footsteps and caused them to sound like a mighty army. When their enemies heard them coming, they took off running. Thousands of people, thousands of troops running for their lives, scared to death, thinking they were being attacked by a massive army, when in fact, it was just four people.

Today, God can make you seem bigger than you really are. He can make you look more powerful. He knows how to multiply your influence, your strength, your talent. He can multiply your income or whatever else you need. You don’t have to figure it all out. All you have to do is believe. If you will release your faith and get up every day expecting God’s far and beyond favor, then you’re going to see God show up and do amazing things. He’ll bless you beyond your wildest dreams and multiply you in every area of your life.God bless you.
===
Pastor Rick Warren 
You can help the Philippines relief by #going or #givingthru Saddleback's P.E.A.C.E. plan there:http://bit.ly/1aei1jU
=
Being cool has never been a requirement for being happy or effective - in life, marriage, parenting, work, or ministry. Cool is overrated.
=
Anytime you feel jealous or envious, you are rejecting your own uniqueness. It's a criticism of God's plan for you.
=
Expect the best and plan for the worst. The Wright brothers took extra lumber with them assuming their first flight would crash!
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European Politicians, Union Leaders Reject Israel Boycott
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/24246/Default.aspx?utm_source=news&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1014&utm_content=No-sidebar-news-1
New EU policies boycotting Jewish 'settlements' face strong opposition from within the continent
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South Africa's Foreign Minister #Mashabane's ill-timed damning statement about Israel and her loss of sleep over "small dots" does not apply to the world's worst human rights violator North Korea. Deputy Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim was sent to N. Korea to 'strengthen ties between the two countries' [South Africa & N. Korea].

Mashabane on Israel: 
"We have agreed to slow down and curtail senior leadership contact with that regime [Israel] until things begin to look better”.
===
Palestinian Family Praises Murderous Son
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/24247/Default.aspx?hp=article_title
Family posts to Facebook praising terrorist's murder of sleeping Israeli soldier; Netanyahu decries 'continuous incitement'
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Threat of Syrian chemical attack on Israel all but over
http://www.timesofisrael.com/threat-of-syrian-chemical-attack-on-israel-all-but-over/
Jerusalem has had to admit that the agreement dismantling Assad’s stockpiles is serving the interests of Israel as well as those of the citizens of Syria
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Israelis not thrilled with US foreign policy
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israelis-not-thrilled-with-us-foreign-policy/
On Iran and talks with Palestinians, Hebrew media report that Jerusalem feels it can no longer trust the Obama administration
===

11/14/2013 20:4
COLUMN ONE: The Demise of Pax Americana
By CAROLINE B. GLICK What happened in Geneva last week was the most significant international event since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The collapse of the Soviet Union signaled the rise of the United States as the sole global superpower. The developments in the six-party nuclear talks with Iran in Geneva last week signaled the end of American world leadership.
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/COLUMN-ONE-The-demise-of-Pax-Americana-331803
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Palestinian Authority's Double Standards on Prisoners :: Gatestone Institute
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4054/palestinian-prisoners
While the Palestinian Authority continues to demand the release of Palestinians from Israeli jails, it has long been ignoring the fact that thousands of Palestinians are languishing in prisons in several Arab countries. The families of the prisoners held
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Hamas Uses International Red Crescent Logo in Parade Without Permission | Jewish & Israel News...
http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/11/15/hamas-uses-international-red-crescent-logo-in-parade-without-permission/
As several thousand armed fighters from terror group Hamas’s Qassam Brigades military wing marched through the Gaza Strip on Thursday, complete with M75 missiles and rocket launchers, their parade also included an ambulance with International Red Crescent insignia, which is against the rules, a spok...
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Solo Israeli Strike on Iran Would Succeed, Nearly 70 Percent of Israelis Say in Poll | Jewish &...
http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/11/15/solo-israeli-strike-on-iran-would-succeed-nearly-70-percent-of-israelis-say-in-poll/
JNS.org – A new Israel Hayom-New Wave Research poll found that 52.4 percent of Israeli Jews are in favor of an independent strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, and 68.8 percent believe a solo Israeli military strike on Iran would be successful. Asked whether Israel is right to oppose the Iran sanctions r...
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The Double-Dealing Middle East Is Double-Dealt
http://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/middle-east-is-double-dealt/?singlepage=true
Boo-hoo, Middle EastAbout every day or so, a throat-clearing Middle East pundit weighs in to warn us of the Obama’s administration’s dereliction of traditional American engagement. They rightly la
My thanks to Bob Clements
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Legal Support for Terrorism at the University of Haifa | FrontPage Magazine
http://frontpagemag.com/2013/steven-plaut/legal-support-for-terrorism-at-the-university-of-haifa/
The alleged crusaders of "human rights" show their true colors.
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TV Ad Warns: 'Obama's March to War'
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/174028
Emergency Committee for Israel to run new US TV ad highlighting reasons to doubt Obama's promises to stop a nuclear Iran.
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Video: IDF Humanitarian Delegation Arrives in the Philippines
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/174041
After a journey halfway across the world, the IDF’s rescue team finally arrives at the storm-ravaged Philippines.
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Friday's Top 5 Top 5 Most Viral Israel Videos

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Special Feature Videos

Episode 3
Click here to watch: Joy of Israel Episode 3 – Holy Hebron and Sweet Hebron Hills
Jamie Geller's food and travel show takes you to Hebron. Visit MaArat HaMachpela, The Tomb of the Patriarchs, and the ancient Avraham Avinu, the Abraham Synagogue. Then take a tour of a modern bean to bar chocolate factory, Holy Cacao.
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A 12+ minute film about the Jewish People, an eternal nation. The spiritual revival of the nation is happening today in Israel. This is one of Ari and Jeremy's best videos this year.
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A short film focused on an organization dedicated to the rebuilding of the 3rd Temple in Jerusalem today. We believe that rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem will bring peace and stability to the world.
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A 40+ Minute video exploring the place where it all began- The City of David!
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Join our mission - Click here to help us grow our network to reach hundreds of thousands of people to make a difference for Israel.
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united with israel alerts newsletter

Israel Alert Newsletter 12 Kislev 5774November 15, 2013
 
This week's Torah portion is Vayishlach (Genesis 32:4 - 36:43). We read one of the most mysterious, if not outright mystical, episodes in the book of Genesis: Jacob's all-night wrestling match with a strange "man."
Our sages teach us that this was no ordinary "man," but rather, it was an angel! Esau's guardian angel to be exact. It was a long and difficult night, but in the end, Jacob ultimately prevailed, as he held his opponent hostage until he ransomed himself with a blessing. What was that blessing that he received? A new name: 'ISRAEL', which means "to struggle with the Godly." This mysterious wrestling match has much meaning. Discover the eternal struggle of the Jew... 
Click here to read more>> 
US Secretary of State John Kerry, during a closed-door briefing on Iran with the Senate Banking Committee, told Republican senators to "ignore anything the Israelis say," according to the New York-based Buzzfeed news website, which was widely circulated in Israeli media. US Secretary of State John Kerry US Secretary of State John Kerry Details of the meeting were provided by news sites worldwide.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been focusing on preventing a "very bad deal" between Iran and the P5+1, according to which sanctions against the Islamic Republic would be removed. Any deal that would allow the Islamic Republic to maintain even a residual capacity to enrich uranium is extremely dangerous not only to Israel, but to the global community, the Israeli leader warned. On this issue, Israeli politicians across the political spectrum are united.
Click here to read more>> 
 Shofar_thumbnail.jpgA Taste from Israel: Cookie Tins for the Holidays!

Exclusivity has a new name! A new and dynamic gourmet food company called Taste from Israel is supporting Israel by offering exclusive kosher gourmet food products emanating from the Holy Land.
Imagine over a century ago in the holy city of Jerusalem... A young woman came up with a cookie recipe -- no doubt through Divine inspiration -- which had the local population each morning waiting with bated breath for just a whiff of the intoxicating aromas seeping through the cracks in the stone walls of her kitchen. Bring this to your home!
Click here to read more>> 
On Thursday evening November 28, 2013 (Thanksgiving Day), the second night of Chanukah, American and Israeli families will join Israeli soldiers on the Chatmar Shomron Military Base to celebrate Chanukah and say "Thank You" to our beloved Israeli soldiers.
This base is just a short distance from the biblical city of Shechem, a Palestinian-run city in Samaria  which has become a primary base for terrorist operations.
Click here to learn how you can literally be part of this incredible party, wherever you are! 

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The Chanukah Story - Understanding our Observance Today
Chanukah is a time to celebrate miracles, chief among them the miracle that occurred after the Jews defeated the Greeks and returned to the Holy Temple.
Just as Greek philosophies promoted moral degradation, so too the Greeks themselves literally defiled and desecrated the Holy Temple. In their wake, they left just one small sealed vessel of pure Menorah oil, bearing the stamped certification of the Priest.
Learn about the modern-day observance of this very meaningful and fun holiday!
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is working feverishly to prevent a "very bad deal" between Iran and the P5+1 nations, under which the Islamic Republic would maintain its capacity to build a nuclear bomb while being relieved of crippling economic sanctions.
As widely reported, he has pleaded with the world on several occasions regarding the implications of a nuclear Iran, including most recently - following the first round of negotiations in Geneva between Iran and the P5+1 nations - on CBS News and at the General Assembly of Jewish Federations in Jerusalem.

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Israeli Invention for Diabetes Treatment Could Save Countless Lives
One of Israel's latest discoveries in diabetes treatment could make a life-and-death difference for sufferers around the world.
Night-Sense, a watch-shaped device aimed at alerting a sleeping individual with a dangerously low blood-sugar level, is in the prototype stage of diabetes treatment.
This wristwatch includes a non-invasive nighttime monitor that could detect hypoglycemic danger in diabetes sufferers. Clinical trials should take place within months.
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A Panel Discussion: The Future of Burma

 

We thought you would be interested to know about a Burma event at Harvard University on Tuesday, November 19, 2013. It is an opportunity to hear from panelists including academics, experts and Burma’s human rights activists on Burma’s current situation and the way forward.

Event Details:
When: Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 4:30pm
Where: S010, Tsai Auditorium,
Japan Friends of Harvard Concourse, CGIS South,
1730 Cambridge St.
Harvard University

Featured Spankers include:
Chairs:  
Professor Amartya Sen, Thomas W. Lamont University Professor
Professor Arthur Kleinman, Victor and William Fung Director, Harvard University Asia Center; Esther and Sidney Rabb Professor, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University; Professor of Medical Anthropology in Global Health and Social Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Panelists:
Professor David Dapice; Ash Center, Harvard Kennedy School; Department of Economics, Tufts University
Professor Adam Richards, Division of General Medicine, UCLA
Dr. Maung Zarni, Center for Democracy and Elections, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur
Ms. Hseng Noung, Shan Women Action Network and Women’s League of Burma
Ms. Cheery Zahau, Human Rights Activist

The event is sponsored by the Harvard University Asia Center and the Harvard Global Equity Initiative

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This week's Metro article on trafficking suggests that close to 30 million people worldwide are the victims of modern day slavery or people trafficking. Trafficking has become something of a buzz word in the media and yet what is actually being done to stop it? And what, as God's people, should be our response and action to it?
 
Having had this weighty topic on my heart for a number of years, Killy and I and our team were delighted this week to connect with award-winning journalist Hazel Thompson. Hazel has recently released a groundbreaking ebook called Taken, which is the result of eleven years of undercover investigation in Mumbai's dangerous and crime-controlled brothels. I was personally moved by Hazel's passion, fearlessness and faith: she risked her life to report and expose this evil trade. The ebook covers real-life stories of babies, girls and women who have had to endure unspeakable experiences, and who have had their lives stolen from them and controlled for the profit of others. Featuring articles, stunning video and photography, the book is exceptionally informed, challenging and very moving.
 
As a result of Hazel's work, she was recently invited to speak in the House of Lords and will sit on a panel at this year’s prestigious Reuters conference on human trafficking.
All of us at Philo would love to encourage you to support Hazel by buying or promotingTaken (the details are below). Hazel will be donating all the profits from the book to the charities with which she works: The Jubilee Campaign and The Bombay Teen Challenge. Along with our prayers, this is a small but significant way in which we can give to the women and children whose lives have been stolen, in the hope that more can be rescued and given back their freedom and dignity.

Agapé,  

Revd. Canon J.John
www.philotrust.com
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Hazel Thompson is a London-based, award-winning photojournalist. Her work assignments have taken her to over 40 countries for clients such as The Sunday Times, the New York Times, Vogue, the Guardian, theObserver Magazine, ABC News, Le Monde 2, Stern Magazine, Politiken and Five News. Hazel's ebookTaken is the result of eleven years of fearless and bold journalism, working undercover in the brothels of Mumbai to expose India's underground sex trafficking industry.
Copyright © 2013 Philo Trust, All rights reserved.
This email has been sent to you by Philo Trust, the ministry of J.John because you have provided us with your details.
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“Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands give me delight.” Psalm 119:143 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"The Lord's portion is his people."
Deuteronomy 32:9
How are they his? By his own sovereign choice. He chose them, and set his love upon them. This he did altogether apart from any goodness in them at the time, or any goodness which he foresaw in them. He had mercy on whom he would have mercy, and ordained a chosen company unto eternal life; thus, therefore, are they his by his unconstrained election.
They are not only his by choice, but by purchase. He has bought and paid for them to the utmost farthing, hence about his title there can be no dispute. Not with corruptible things, as with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord's portion has been fully redeemed. There is no mortgage on his estate; no suits can be raised by opposing claimants, the price was paid in open court, and the Church is the Lord's freehold forever. See the blood-mark upon all the chosen, invisible to human eye, but known to Christ, for "the Lord knoweth them that are his"; he forgetteth none of those whom he has redeemed from among men; he counts the sheep for whom he laid down his life, and remembers well the Church for which he gave himself.
They are also his by conquest. What a battle he had in us before we would be won! How long he laid siege to our hearts! How often he sent us terms of capitulation! but we barred our gates, and fenced our walls against him. Do we not remember that glorious hour when he carried our hearts by storm? When he placed his cross against the wall, and scaled our ramparts, planting on our strongholds the blood-red flag of his omnipotent mercy? Yes, we are, indeed, the conquered captives of his omnipotent love. Thus chosen, purchased, and subdued, the rights of our divine possessor are inalienable: we rejoice that we never can be our own; and we desire, day by day, to do his will, and to show forth his glory.

Evening

"Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us."
Psalm 68:28
It is our wisdom, as well as our necessity, to beseech God continually to strengthen that which he has wrought in us. It is because of their neglect in this, that many Christians may blame themselves for those trials and afflictions of spirit which arise from unbelief. It is true that Satan seeks to flood the fair garden of the heart and make it a scene of desolation, but it is also true that many Christians leave open the sluice-gates themselves, and let in the dreadful deluge through carelessness and want of prayer to their strong Helper. We often forget that the Author of our faith must be the Preserver of it also. The lamp which was burning in the temple was never allowed to go out, but it had to be daily replenished with fresh oil; in like manner, our faith can only live by being sustained with the oil of grace, and we can only obtain this from God himself. Foolish virgins we shall prove, if we do not secure the needed sustenance for our lamps. He who built the world upholds it, or it would fall in one tremendous crash; he who made us Christians must maintain us by his Spirit, or our ruin will be speedy and final. Let us, then, evening by evening, go to our Lord for the grace and strength we need. We have a strong argument to plead, for it is his own work of grace which we ask him to strengthen--"that which thou hast wrought for us." Think you he will fail to protect and sustain that? Only let your faith take hold of his strength, and all the powers of darkness, led on by the master fiend of hell, cannot cast a cloud or shadow over your joy and peace. Why faint when you may be strong? Why suffer defeat when you may conquer? Oh! take your wavering faith and drooping graces to him who can revive and replenish them, and earnestly pray, "Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us."
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Today's reading: Ezekiel 1-2, Hebrews 11:1-19 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 1-2

Ezekiel’s Inaugural Vision
1 In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
2 On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— 3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the LORD was on him.
4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 5and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved....

Today's New Testament reading: Hebrews 11:1-19

Faith in Action
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith....
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Caiaphas

[Cā'iaphăs] - a searcher or he that seeks with diligence. Joseph Caiaphas, the son-in-law of Annas, was high priest of the Jews for eighteen years (Matt. 26:3, 57).

The Man with Sadducaean Insolence

Dr. David Smith refers to this wicked man whom the Spirit of God used to declare divine purposes as, "a man of masterful temper, with his full share of the insolence which was a Sadducaean characteristic." The Sadducees were a sect among the Jews, so called from their founder Sadoc who lived about 260 years before Christ. Their principal tenets were:
I. There is no angel, spirit or resurrection; the soul finishes with the body (Matt. 22:23; Acts 23:8).
II. There is no fate or providence - all men enjoy the most ample freedom of action - absolute power to do good or evil.
III. There is no need to follow tradition. Scripture, particularly the first five books of the Bible, must be strictly adhered to. Caiaphas, as an ardent Sadducee, figures three times in the New Testament.
A. At the raising of Lazarus. After the miracle at Bethany, the rulers were alarmed at the popularity of Jesus which the resurrection of Lazarus brought Him, and convened a meeting of the Sanhedrin to decide what should be done with Jesus. Caiaphas presided and with a high hand forced a resolution that Jesus should be put to death (John 11:49, 53).
B. At the trial of Jesus. At a further meeting of the Sanhedrin when Jesus appeared before its members and was tried and condemned, Caiaphas again displayed his character by his open determination to find Jesus guilty. Since he was the high priest, his announcements were clothed with authority, but his shameless disregard of the forms of law to bring about the death of Jesus, revealed his warped conscience (Matt. 26:57; 58; John 18:24 ). Yet Caiaphas used language somewhat prophetic when he said that it was expedient for one man to die for the people, and Christ did die for Jew and Gentile alike. By His death He broke down the middle wall (Eph. 2:14-18).
C. At the trial of Peter and John. Caiaphas also took part in the examination of Peter and John when called in question over the marvels of the healing of the lame man. The manifestation of God's power was so evident that Annas and Caiaphas could do nothing about the apostles (Acts 4).
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November 15, 2011
Plan for Peace
Today's Truth
When a man's ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. (Proverbs 16:7, ESV).
Friend to Friend
I recently read the story of a young reporter who approached an older gentleman on his 100th birthday.
"I want to wish you a happy birthday, Sir. I have just one question for you. What would you say is your greatest accomplishment in life?" the young reporter asked.
"Well," said the man, "I don't have a single enemy in the world."
"Really? That's incredible!" responded the reporter. "What is your secret?"
The centenarian smiled and proudly replied, "I have outlived every single one of them."
Let's be honest. Some people are harder to get along with than others. I call them "sandpaper people" because they are irritating and rub me the wrong way. Tough relationships are a certainty in life. When it comes to handling those difficult relationships, God does not want or expect us to declare war. We are to control our emotions instead of allowing them to control us. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 12:18, "As much as is possible, live peaceably with all men." In other words, we need to set our mind on peace - not winning.
God's desire is for us to wage peace in every relationship. What is even more amazing to me is the fact that God calls us to wage peace with even the roughest, most abrasive sandpaper people who come our way. Now that is a formidable task, since sandpaper people seem to come with a set agenda that targets emotional eruptions and creates constant relationship upheavals. They love a good fight, live to evoke angry reactions and are fierce warriors determined to win every battle initiated by their downright irritating personalities. However, combat is impossible when the enemy has laid down his weapons and chosen peace.
Unresolved conflict is the enemy of peace, and peace is often the casualty of unresolved conflict in relationships. I love this little poem about relationship problems:
"To dwell above with saints we love, that will be grace and glory.
To live below with saints we know; that's another story!" (Author unknown)

The world has its own system for working out conflict. That system is retaliation. God has a different plan for working out conflict. That plan is restoration. The apostle Paul was a master at conflict resolution and in 1 Thessalonians 5:13, he offers a simple but powerful command to "live in peace with each other." In Colossians 3:12-14, he paints a clear picture of what living in peace should look like in our lives:
"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Sounds like an impossible task, doesn't it? It is ... unless we choose to rely on and surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us. When Paul says that we are to "clothe" ourselves with certain characteristics so we will always be prepared for peace, he means we must plan ahead and make deliberate choices before the choice is actually necessary.
For example, the holidays are coming up. (I know. I can't believe it either.) Let's say that your least favorite relatives are coming for a week and you are already dreading their visit. Make the decision right now to practice patience, love and self-control during their stay. Choose today to please God by how you treat them and welcome them into your home. Why?
Proverbs 16:7 (ESV) "When a man's ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."
"He" is the operating word in the verse above. Did you catch that? Our obedience to God invites Him to promote peace in our relationships - even the most difficult ones. All we have to focus on is making sure our ways are pleasing to the Lord and He will do the rest. Now that is a great plan for peace!
Let's Pray
Father, I want to live a life of obedience to You. Make me an instrument of Your peace. Teach me to love even my enemies. Give me the strength to wage peace when what I really want to do is wage war. Today, I choose to surrender my stubborn will to You. I lay down my emotional weapons and choose peace. Be glorified in my relationships, Father.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
Now It's Your Turn
When our daughter, Danna, was a little girl, she loved to shop ... for any reason. One day, when I picked her up from school, she hopped in the car and exclaimed, "Mom, it is going to snow tonight!" I started laughing because I had already checked the weather and snow was nowhere in the forecast. "Danna, it is going to be in the 50s tonight. I hardly think we need to prepare for snow." Danna's immediate response was, "But don't you think we should go shopping - just in case?"
We need to plan for peace. The characteristics that we wear or "bring" to relationships will determine the level of peace in those relationships. Peace makes the decision to resolve conflict before conflict comes. Paul lists the characteristics we need to cultivate personally in order to have right relationships filled with peace. On a scale of one to five, how are you doing in each area when it comes to dealing with the difficult people in your life?
1 = Awful
5 = Awesome
___ Compassionate
___ Kind
___ Humble
___ Gentle
___ Patient
___ Merciful
___ Loving
___ Forgiving

What one change are you willing to make today to promote peace in your relationships? Record your answer in your journal along with a prayer of commitment. Feeling brave? Share your commitment with a girlfriend who will hold you accountable.
More from the Girlfriends
Already feeling the stress of the approaching holidays? You need Mary's book, Escaping the Stress Trap, for practical steps to dealing with and managing stress. Need a friend? Connect with Mary on Facebook - or through email. Need help learning how to study the Bible? Join women across the world in Mary's weekly online Bible Study, Light for the Journey, and find out.
"I am flat broke and Christmas is just around the corner!" Do those words sound familiar? Don't let gift-giving become a chore instead of a joy. Get Mary's MP3 download - Giving the Perfect Gift - and discover how to give ten wonderful and inexpensive gifts.
Seeking God?
Click here to find out more about
how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Girlfriends in God
P.O. Box 725
Matthews, NC 28106
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P31Header
Lisa Whittle
November 15, 2011
Labels
Lisa Whittle, She Seeks
"I have called you by name; you are mine." Isaiah 43:1b(NLT)
I ran down the stairs to find the usual smattering of bright red, green and silver wrapped boxes full of gifts. I tore into them, anticipating the many things I'd written on my long Christmas wish list. All the gifts excited me. But one, in particular, was a favorite: my very own shiny black label maker.
In the weeks to come, I would put labels on everything. My shoes had white sticky strips with gray crooked letters that spelled 'Lisa' on them. So did my books, my bags, my plastic baton handle and even my padded bicycle seat. I took great pleasure in tagging the things I loved with my name.
But as the years went on, I used labels in different ways. I labeled myself as confident when deep down, I was really afraid. I labeled myself as bad when I became weighted down by my sin. Even as an adult, when my husband and I closed the church we started just 13 months earlier, I labeled myself a failure.
Labels. Not all of them are good.
Often, the labels we put on ourselves as grown women can create holes inside us - the kind of internal voids that only God can fill. We do this when we pluck one negative experience from our life, or even, a positive one, and we decide that our life story, worth and future rests on the label our experience has created. It is then that we fail to remember that the only label we need ever wear is the one that says we belong to Jesus.
Jesus did not create us to wear the labels of this world, even the ones we place on ourselves. Instead, He created us as His "dearly loved children" (Eph. 5:1 NIV).
Labels get in the way of this. They keep us tagged with unhealthy stigmas, emotions and pieces from our past that weigh on us and stifle His intention for our life.
The truth is, our experiences do not own us unless we give them permission. Instead, we have access to the power of God to help us peel off the labels, so we may start living a whole new story - our own story of wholeness.
Are you ready to live without your labels? If you are, then you are in the right place.
Because today, Jesus wants you to know that His label of love has covered all the rest. And with that covering, no other label has room to stick.
Dear Lord, thank You for being the only label I need wear. Help me to take off the other labels I have been given, even by myself. May I know, today, that identity in You offers freedom...and may I receive it into the deepest places of my heart by the power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Journey with Lisa to becoming whole on her blog. While there, enter to win one of two sets of {w}hole andBehind Those Eyes.
When you purchase resources through Proverbs 31 Ministries, you touch eternity because your purchase supports the many areas of hope-giving ministry we provide at no cost. We wish we could, but we simply can't compete with prices offered by huge online warehouses. Therefore, we are extremely grateful for each and every purchase you make with us. Thank you!
Application Steps:
Have you struggled to move past the labels you have had in your life?
Reflections:
How can I begin to see myself with only the label of "child of God"?
Power Verses:
Galatians 1:15, "But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace." (NLT)
2 Peter 1:3, "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence." (NLT)
© 2011 by Lisa Whittle. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
616-G Matthews-Mint Hill Road
Matthews, NC 28105
www.Proverbs31.org
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Everything New - A Weeekly Devotional

GOD’S ATTRIBUTES- HE IS CHANGELESS

Imagine our confusion if we thought that God is glorious (sometimes) or is Spirit (once in a while) or knows us (at least 75% of us, plus or minus 5%). No, whatever God is, he is consistently. God "does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17). Everything else in life changes. God will one day roll up the universe like a robe, "But you [God] remain the same, and your years will never end" (Hebrews 1:12).
What a parent hopes to be-consistent, even-handed, fair, reliable, steady-God is. He always is. He is the only father who is never arbitrary, never capricious, never moody. What was true about God 4,000 years ago when he called Abram is still true of him today. And so what is true about him today will be true for your great-grandchildren and for all eternity.
God is great. This is the song sung by the universe. It is the proper interpretation of every heartbeat, every breath, and every step of our lives.
This is what Mary, the mother of Jesus, meant when she said "My soul magnifies the Lord" (Luke 1:46). The news of God's act of supreme greatness, bringing a rescuer into the world, inspired her to praise and adoration. But Mary "magnified" the Lord, not in the sense that she made him bigger, but because her soul was enlarged by the greatness she was just beginning to comprehend.
No telescope ever made a celestial body larger, but by gaining a larger vision, a magnified vision, the beholder is changed by the greatness beheld.
Greatness is our best hope, when we feel like our lives are just so many pieces, to know that there is a way to pull it all together. We are pulled together and held together by the greater purpose of a greater being. So when we wonder where we fit in, or how we can go on after losing somebody important, or whether we can do any good in our lives, the answer comes from the throne of the God of greatness. His invisible hand moves us more powerfully and carefully than any other influence in our lives. He is not puzzled by the puzzling pieces of life.
PRAY THIS
God, enlarge me. I don't ask you to make me bigger or more important, but I know that if I get a fuller experience of your greatness, that my heart and my mind will be greater for it. But most of all, help me to be exuberant in setting a course of life to know your greatness, and to speak of your greatness whenever I have the opportunity.
Excerpt from Putting the Pieces Back Together: How Real Life and Real Faith Connect. Click for more.
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Resources
About The Author - Mel Lawrenz serves as minister at large for Elmbrook Church and leads The Brook Network. Having been in pastoral ministry for thirty years, the last decade as senior pastor of Elmbrook, Mel seeks to help Christian leaders engage with each other. Mel is the author of eleven books, the most recent for church leaders, Whole Church: Leading from Fragmentation to Engagement.
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Why was David so emotionally up and down?

This week's reading: Psalm 13:1–5
Within five verses David moves from spiritual despair to hope, from gut-wrenching, internal wrestlings to complete trust and from deep sorrow to rejoicing. What causes these dramatic turnabouts?
One explanation may be that David’s psalms are simply snapshots of his feelings. As he gradually worked through issues, he returned to his confidence in God. But it may have happened more slowly than it would appear from reading the compressed account in these few verses.
Another explanation may be that David knew how to express feelings and faith simultaneously. Perhaps David revealed his emotions on one level while on another level he told what he actually believed.
David’s mood changes reflect the feelings of normal people struggling with their faith. Perhaps that’s why so many people can identify with Psalms with all its ups and downs.
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Today's reading is from theNIV Quest Study Bible
by Zondervan

This unique Bible addresses the common, uncommon, and perplexing questions people ask about Scripture.


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